Letter to the editor: Call the DEQ

Dear fellow citizens, if you have been affected by the chemical odors discharged by the Creosote Plant at the east end of The Dalles, as many of us have, please contact Oregon DEQ at:

Office: (541) 388-6146

Direct Phone: (541) 633-2019

Fax: (541) 388-8283

Email: messina.frank@deq.state.or.us

Kindly call and complain as soon as you can, and whenever it stinks, as DEQ is in the process of issuing a new Air Quality Permit for Amerities West, the corporation that operates this plant.

In an informational meeting on February 7, 2014, DEQ indicated that not very many people were complaining despite the fact that the plant emits several cancer causing chemicals including napthalene at 4 times the carcinogenic limit, benzene,and polyaromatic hydrocarbons.

I feel that this plant is not compatible with human habitation and should be relocated. I get headaches and feel sick almost as often as a drive by the site. I wonder what they are thinking, as they have been continuously cleaning up their groundwater for 22 years, while they still store treated ties over open area polluting the ground water all over again.

Many years ago the DEQ odor regulations were much more protective of human health. Up to now, Amerities, has no continuous fence-line pollutant monitoring program, has no plans for additional emission control equipment, and has done no comprehensive studies with respect to health impacts on local residents.

I’m sure that there are several employees on site, but the companies emissions probably create more jobs at local hospitals.

Comments

Dear Dave Berger if the smell of Amerities offends you stay in lyle, do your shopping and other necessities in Lyle or White Salmon and pay your Sales tax. The Tie plant is a lot cleaner than it was in the past and is complimented by visitors on it's cleanliness compared to other treating facilities. If every Manufacturing facility in the country that produced an odor were shut down there would be a lot more people out of work and enough of our manufacturing has moved to other countries already,just think if there were no more Paper or Pulp mills that means no moreToilet paper,then you would probably put out your own offending odor.